The Slovak government will offer another 41 % stake in the power distributor Zapadoslovenska energetika (ZSE) to Germany’s E.ON for a minimum of SKK 14.5 bn, Slovak Economy Minister Pavol Rusko announced Wednesday.

The state would put its remaining 10 % stake in the firm up for sale on the Bratislava Stock Exchange, says Rusko.

E.ON currently holds a 40 % stake in ZSE. The government wants to hold talks on the price with E.ON in order to achieve a “better alternative for Slovakia,” the CTK news agency quotes Rusko as saying.

E.ON, which also holds stakes in Czech and Hungarian power utilities, acquired a 49 % stake in ZSE along with managerial control for EUR 330 mln in 2002.

Last year, the firm sold a 9 % stake in the firm to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

(Interfax 04.vi.04)